1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to wire reels, and more particularly, to an improved guide and brake system for a wire reel that is sized and dimensioned to more smoothly feed and more efficiently brake wire being pulled from a reel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of wire reels are known for use in telephone exchanges and other similar areas to store wire for use in the areas. These known wire reels have problems pulling the wire off the reel because of overruns that cause entanglement, dragging of wire, rubbing off of insulation, and the like. In attempts to control overruns from such reels, many different types of braking and guiding systems have been developed over the years. Examples of such known systems are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 1,418,706 to Hampton, U.S. Pat. No. 1,908,073 to Spoor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,069,107 to Hirt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,870 to Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,392 to Starace, U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,176 to Carlson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,973 to Stomski et al.
The known reels and their associated braking and guide systems have been developed for specific situations and improve the pulling of wire in such situations. However, they do not work well in all instances or with all wires. For example, they do not always accurately control and guide some wires, such as insulated wires, when the wire is being pulled off a reel during varying short and long runs.
Therefore, there exists a long felt need in the wire reel art for an improved system for more accurately and smoothly guiding wire being pulled from a reel with less wear and tear on the wire, and which provides more efficient braking of the wire during and after a run of any desired length.